German Chocolate Cake

When I recently posted my Accidental Mocha Mousse recipe, Samantha requested this German Chocolate Cake so that she and her mother would not miss out on it during the holidays. I am more than pleased to add it to this blog, as German Chocolate Cake is a classic.

Although my boys are in a finicky stage lately, boycotting most of the things I make (even dessert!) they eagerly wolfed down this sweet, rich chocolaty cake.

Comments

This recipe is a favourite of mine. I have made it many, many times for many occasions.
I substitute coconut oil for the grapeseed oil and use honey.
I rarely make it as a frosted cake, but it comes out wonderfully as a bundt cake (bake for 45 mins) or in mini-loaf pans (bake for 35 mins).

Hi Elana. I just recently discovered your website and have only tried a few recipes, but so far I love them! My Dad is gluten-intolerant and I have been baking him gluten free snacks for the last several years. I’m getting so excited looking at all your wonderful recipes. I can’t wait to try more and more! Thank you so much!

Anyway, concerning this recipe: First off, it looks really delicious. Second, my Dad doesn’t like things super sweet. So I was wondering if the cake and frosting consistency would still turn out good if I added less honey? Should I add more dry if I take out wet? I’m still fairly green when it comes to baking. :P

Turned out great! I put 1 cup of honey in the cake, and 1/2 cup in the frosting. The sweetness level was perfect for my dad and me too! At first I wasn’t sure if it would actually taste like real German Chocolate Cake, but it did! And he was really happy because he hasn’t had that in ages.

I also put coconut oil in the cake instead of grapeseed/shortening. The bottom was a little overdone, and the cake was maybe a little on the dryer side, but it was still delicious! Maybe next time I’ll add a little water or something to make it more moist.

Thanks again, Elana, for all these awesome recipes! I’ve been raving about you to my family so much that yesterday for my birthday my sister got me one of your cookbooks. ;)

Hi Elana! I was looking for a new cake recipe. I have always made the Paula’s Deen , which is good enough. Today I found yours. Looks good and the reviews say so. Tomorrow I’ll be making yours. I’ll let you know how did it go.!

I made this cake this a couple of weeks ago for my boyfriend’s 56th birthday. I have been gluten-free, dairy-free for 18 years after finding out the rheumatoid arthritis symptoms I was having were due to food allergies (immune response)… since I made the change, it all went away. I learned to do much of my own cooking, often through hit and miss, since there was very little in the stores 18 years ago, and even the recipes at the time were not great… so glad to have sites like yours. Anyway, my boyfriend is a professional chef (specialized in Lebanese and Indian cuisine), and has so far loved my cooking… so we regularly cook for each other, and, since he has a sweet tooth (without liking anything too sugary), I treat him to various goodies, all made so that I can eat them too… He often shares them with his mom and two kids (he is a single father). This cake went over so well with him and his kids… and he brought a piece home to his mother who apparently kept saying fantastic in Arabic after almost every mouthful. She has since decided she wants to cook something in return for me, and has specially requested that I make the cake again some other time. She had started to be accepting of me, but I have to credit the cake for pushing things further in my favour. Thanks!

Hi Elana! Just made this cake for a Labor Day get-together on Monday and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I had no idea ahead of time that german chocolate cake was a favorite among many of the guests at the party and they let me know that this cake was by far the best german chocolate they have ever had! This is the first cake I have made since discovering my dairy allergy three months ago and deciding to go gluten free and refined sugar free as well, and I couldn’t of been happier with the results! I can’t wait to try out more of your recipes!

Is it possible to omit the agave, or very much reduce it and chiefly sweeten the cake with stevia? I’d imagine it would coule out less moist since syrups and honey retain moisture. Has anyone tried baking much with stevia? Elaina, have you done this or any of your other cakes or cookies with stevia? Or is that impracticle? Thank you

Hello,
I just made this recipe for my friends birthday today. I made a small one so that I could sample from the same batter. It is delicious! I know my friend is going to love this cake. Thank you Elena for this recipe!

I found the same…it was quite fascinating actually! But after you blend it up and spread over the cake you will find that it just melts in your mouth and is delicious! It reminded me of that fake slime we used to have as kids :0D

Elana, you have become my favorite! Before having to go grain/sugar/dairy free four years ago, I had german chocolate cake every year on my birthday. This year, I celebrated my 30th in style…with your german chocolate cake! THANK YOU!!!! I discovered you when searchin Amazon for cookbooks that fit my dietary needs, and I now have your Gluten-free Almond Flour Cookbook and you blog are now my go-to resources EVERY TIME I am planning meals or special events.

I made this last week for my book club meeting. 3 of us are GF and about 10 or more are not. Everyone loved it! This is the first recipe I have tried here and it won’t be the last. I have tried other gf cake mixes and recipes and none were worth eating, both because of texture and taste. I did not make the frosting though since I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand and used a more traditional one instead since GF also.

This was freakin amazing. Enough said. The only subs I made was palm sugar for agave, and I didn’t have pecans so I used walnuts…. gasp I know. Still turned out beyond amazing and the next time I need to make a cake I will go all out with the pecans. So delicious!!! And it would have NEVER occurred to me that it was not made with white flour and sugar.

Thank you so much for all the recipes, your website has been a Godsend!
I was wondering though, I don’t have any cocoa powder, could milk chocolate squares be used instead? Also, will honey work in place of agave nectar? Any help you can give would be great.

German chocolate cake is my all time favorite dessert and your recipe sounds the easiest one I ever tried. I'm good at baking specialty cakes and I've my own super hit recipes of frosting and cakes. It's a layered cake and looks awesome, my kids don't like the nutty frosting on top. So I do a caramel coating with the following:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Elana, when I was a kid I LOVED german chocolate cake with the coconut/pecan frosting. I didn’t think I’d ever get to eat it again, being gluten free. This looks like a great recipe, I’m going to make it for my birthday next month!! Thanks for posting it, I can’t wait to indulge!

This cake was fabulous! I made it this weekend for my Mom’s birthday and everyone devoured it. Thank you for such an awesome recipe! I don’t have celiac but have been experimenting with a more paleolithic style of eating which led me to more gluten free options. I absolutely love your recipes.

Just curious if anyone has made cupcakes using this recipe? I’m making several varieties of cupcakes for my wedding in May, and need at least one of them to be gluten-free for my future mother-in-law. Plus German Chocolate is my fiance and dad’s favorite cake, so this would be perfect.

I finally got around to making this last night.
The cake part turned out and is amazing!
The icing, however, did not turn out. I must have gone wrong somewhere.
I ended up making a backup icing with ingredients I had: cream cheese, orange marmalade, and icing sugar. It is ok, but I’m sure the Coconut Pecan Frosting would be better – if only mine had turned out.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I had dessert first tonight. I halved the recipe, yielding one round cake. Also used melted butter instead of GS oil. I love the fact that your GF blog basically uses healthy foods in flour form. I don’t feel good about eating desserts made with tapioca, rice, potato and other starchy, low/no nutrition flours. Yes, you need eggs, lots of them, but if they’re fresh, preferably organic, the final product is not “eggy.” I can’t wait to try more soon. I will leave feedback on recipezaar, too!

A very lovely, healthy and happy 2009 Elana! (and everybody else reading this of course)
Wow, this cake looks absolutely delish!! This is what your truly call an eyecandy :-)
Elana, how spectacular of you!
Right this moment (as a good start of 2009) my kitchen is being renovated. That is, the old one is taken out and new cupboards/equipment/and everything will be brought in and installed this coming week. I’d allready decided what my first meal to be cooked in the new kitchen would be, I sure have found a dessert now too!
Thank you very much Elana, it is so kind that you share your recipes, thoughts and photo’s with us.
Have a lovely weekend!
Christianne

ok, so i made the cake today with carob, it turned out amazing! my mom just left with 3 slices! she even thought it was chocolate! i didn’t alter anything else just the carob, not even the amounts!
so if you are allergic to chocolate like me, just sub carob and enjoy!
thank you soo much elana!!!!

cdecocina -Coconut flour is very cheap especially considering you don’t need to use much –it’s also packed with fiber. If you decide to make it, please feel free to share your results here!

Trish -Thank you!

jazzygus -I think coconut flour would make a great addition to your pantry. Thanks for stopping by.

april -I’m not sure what would happen if you used carob powder. If you decide to experiment, please let us know your results. Sorry, I don’t have any crepe recipes. You might want to see if anyone has any info or suggestions about the carob powder or a gluten free crepe recipe on my forums.

My birthday is January 1st and I am going to make this cake for myself. I am not sure if I am going to share it or just eat it all myself (just kidding — my husband wouldn’t let me get away with not sharing).

Are the flour amounts correct? Ten eggs plus 1 cup oil plus 1 cup agave would seem to require a lot more than a little over a cup of flour/cocoa, but the recipe – especially the frosting – looks well worth trying. Thanks!

Elana, you are an ANGEL. My family has a tradition of eating German Chocolate Cake for Birthday’s as my aunt has made it into a family recipe…I thought I would have to suffer without (as I try to be as healthy as I can be). Thank you for this recipe! I cannot wait to try it out!

the chocolate cake with fluffy white icing that is shown on the right on the cover of your almond flour recipe book, is that the german cake but with which icing?
my son is turning 3 soon and has seen that cake on the computer over the last few months and keeps telling me that that is his birthday cake, so i would love the recipe please

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